Monday
January 1
"I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU, PETER" (Luke 22:31, 32, 40-46;
23:34).
It is now Thursday evening, only hours before Jesus' arrest and trial.
Jesus is eating the Passover meal with His disciples. He warns them that
one is about to betray Him and all would forsake Him (Luke 22:14-62;
see also
The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5,
p. 866:14, "The hour").
What special message did Jesus have for Peter? Luke 22:31, 32.
"How true was the Saviour's friendship for Peter! how compas-
sionate His warning! But the warning was resented. In self-
sufficiency Peter declared confidently that he would never do what
Christ had warned him against. . . . His self-confidence proved his
ruin. He tempted Satan to tempt him, and he fell under the arts of the
wily foe."—Ellen G. White Comments,
The SDA Bible Commentary,
vol. 5,
p. 1123:31-34, "Peter Tempted the Devil."
Considering the force of the original Greek, we could say that
Satan demands to have every one of us. He lost heaven and eternal
life to gain this world, and he struggles to charm each of us and
fasten us in his grip. Jesus, however, disputes his claim. He won the
right to save every soul (John 1:29; Rom. 5:18). Earnestly He prayed
for Peter (Luke 22:31, 32). These prayers gave Peter courage to face
the darkest moment of his life.
We travel on to witness Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Read Luke 22:39-44. Once again, despite great anguish, we hear Him
calling God His Father, indicating that, even though on the rest of His
journey He must travel through great tumult, He still trusts in the
divine plan.
Jesus' prayer in Luke 22 points out the risk we sometimes take
when we pray. If we really are sincere when we pray, " 'Yet not my
will, but yours be done"' (vs. 42, NIV), we must be ready to drink the
cup He places in our hands, even if it is bitter. Remember, however,
that just as God sent an angel "not to take the cup from Christ's hand,
but to strengthen Him to drink it," so He will empower us. (See
The
Desire of Ages,
p. 693; for further study, read p. 694.)
Jesus' prayer life followed a pattern we all can follow. He met
every crisis in advance through prayer. Before stepping forth to meet
His enemies or to meet an unfair trial, humiliation, torture, and
death, He fought the battle in prayer. He then was able to stride forth
calmly as a Victor to meet His foes.
Why can we say that Jesus' prayer in Luke
23:34 expresses
the sum and substance of Christianity?
8